So I hate flying, but I have to do a fair amount of it for work. I can NEVER sleep on planes and I'm always a tad bit anxious. What do you do to stay relaxed or get some sleep on an airplane?

I'm flying to Chicago this thursday and I'm planning on getting up early in the morning and going for a nice long run before I head to the airport. Hopefully this will help

 

ticket --> airport bar --> few glasses/pints --> stumble to plane

works every time

(especially for transatalntic flights, include a few more airplane bottles of wine or other alcoholic bevvies once on board, i'm always out like a light)

iPod helps, as well as one of those neck-rest flotchies - I also take off my shoes and put on some thick socks, much better than having my feet squished!

 

Well I've flown quite a bit for work as well. Its definitely taxing, but I've found that its great to have some chill/downtempo music and a good set of sound isolating headphones (BOSE). They do wonders. Most of the travelling I've done has been int'l so they provide them for free in B-class, but I think they are definitely worth buying for someone who does very frequent domestic travel as well.

They even help you to relax in peace even when you aren't listening to music.

I've found that liquor never helps the cause either... nor does a heavy meal. But keeping hydrated is always good. For international flights I've found those cleansing wipes(my gf gave them to me.. hehe) to be great for keeping your face moisturized and fresh. Helps keep you relaxed. I've never really been able to sleep on a plane, except in small spurts, but I've found its best to just make sure you are comfortable and relaxed.

Rack up the miles and travel safe.

 

Try falling asleep while the plane is still at the jetway, before the plane takes off.

 

Ditto. Take off the shoes, and make sure to help your blood circulate in the legs and feet by doing stretches... it really does help.

 

My trick has always to take Dramamine...the max amount allowed. That stuff just knocks me out and by the time I wake up, I'm where I need to be.

Works wonders on those flights to India. I also tell the air hostess to leave me the f alone and not to bother me with drink/food requests. I pretty much just hibernate.

 

Great advice so far! I definitely agree with taking off your shoes - for some reason that helps a great deal. Alcohol, however, would be a bad thing for me. I'm half asian, but I'm apparently 100% asian when it comes to my alcohol tolerance. I get the asian glow - I turn red, get hot, my heart start beating fast. It's basically the opposite of what would help me relax on the plane

By the way, how much do a set of theose bose noise cancelling headphones cost? Is there a cheaper brand of nc headphones that works almost as well as the bose, but doesn't cost as much?

 

Drinking is a must at airports and on the plane. I would typically bring my flask plus buy a few drinks on the plane. Believe it or not, airports and plane trips are great places to meet women. I always get cleaned up nice before I hit the airports and fly

 

^ Try bringing your flask on these days....

 

The Bose headphones are $300 I believe. I tried purchasing a cheapie pair of Aiwa ones once for $50 at Best Buy. Needless to say they made me motion sick for some reason(while stationary in my room), and yeah returned them and never tried again... The Bose ones are awesome. I'm sure there must be some alternatives... try cnet.com I'm sure they've got tons of reviews.

On another note-
I hate when people try to talk to me during flights. Just leave me the F alone! Unless of course you have two very big reasons why I should pay attention.......
Sadly, no INTERESTING flight neighbors yet..

The hotties always seem to be in first class.....